A passive EMI filter with access to the ungrounded motor neutral line: direct connection of a general‐purpose inverter to a three‐phase grounded voltage source

This paper proposes a small‐sized passive EMI filter for the purpose of eliminating high‐frequency shaft voltage and ground leakage current from an AC motor. The motor is driven by a general‐purpose PWM inverter connected to a three‐phase grounded voltage source. The passive EMI filter requires access to the ungrounded neutral point of the motor. This unique circuit configuration makes the common‐mode inductor effective in reducing the high‐frequency common‐mode voltage generated by the PWM inverter with a carrier frequency of kHz. As a result, both high‐frequency shaft voltage and ground leakage current can be eliminated very efficiently. However, the common‐mode inductor may not play any role in reducing the low‐frequency common‐mode voltage generated by the diode rectifier, so that a low‐frequency component still remains in the shaft voltage. Such a low‐frequency shaft voltage may not produce any bad effect on motor bearings. The validity and effectiveness of the EMI filter are verified by experimental results obtained from a 200‐V 5‐kVA laboratory system. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 159(2): 80–87, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20243     

A passive EMI filter with access to the ungrounded motor neutral line—Its effect on attenuating bearing current

This paper describes the effect of a passive EMI filter on preventing bearing current from flowing inside an inverter‐driven motor. Motor‐bearing damage is often caused by bearing currents resulting from the breakdown of grease films in the motor bearing. The high‐frequency common‐mode voltage generated by the PWM inverter induces a shaft voltage between the rotor and the frame. When the shaft voltage exceeds the breakdown voltage of the grease films, a destructive instantaneous discharge current with a peak value of about 1 A flows through the motor bearing. The passive EMI filter, which is unique in access to the motor neutral line, can reduce the shaft voltage as a result of eliminating the high‐frequency common‐mode voltage from the motor terminals. Hence, no breakdown occurs in the grease film, so that no bearing current flows. The viability and effectiveness of the passive EMI filter is verified by experimental results obtained from a 400‐V, 3.7‐kW laboratory system. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 166(2): 78– 87, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20489     

PWM电机驱动系统中共模电压和轴电压的抑制

为了抑制PWM驱动电机系统中的高频共模电压和轴电压.提出一种无源滤波器拓扑结构.通过对传导干扰传播途径的分析,设计滤波器拓扑结构及其参数.该滤波器包括了一个共模滤波器和一个差模滤波器,连接在PWM逆变器的输出侧及整流器的输入侧,共模滤波器分别消除逆变器输出侧与电机之间的共模电压及整流器交流侧的共模电压,差模滤波器消除三相线和线之间的高频差模电压及衰减电机终端出现的过电压.实验结果表明本文提出的方法有效地抑制了共模电压和轴电压,并且使系统的传导干扰发射在整个频段内均不超标,验证了所提出无源滤波器拓扑结构的正确性及参数选择的有效性.     

Proposal of voltage transient sag compensator with controlled gradational voltage

This paper presents a new concept for a voltage transient sag compensator and the experimental result of its 400‐V‐class compensator. This compensator is composed of the series connection of some inverter units with gradational output voltages. Because each output voltage is different by 2ⁿ times, an approximate sinusoidal voltage is generated by controlling operation of each inverter and compensates voltage sag of the power line. The compensator can be directly installed in a power line without an insertion transformer and a large filter, and thus it is expected to be a compact and economical system. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 154(3): 65–72, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20289     

Filter‐based perturbation control of low‐frequency oscillation in voltage‐mode H‐bridge DC–AC inverter

This paper presents a new additional perturbation control method for suppressing low‐frequency oscillation in voltage‐mode H‐bridge DC–AC inverter. The stability boundary of the H‐bridge inverter is investigated from its small‐signal averaged model. High input voltage and light load would cause low‐frequency oscillation in this system. To this end, a filter‐based perturbation control (FBPC) is proposed for eliminating this oscillation, by using an analog filter to extract the unexpected signal and applying it to the control loop. Theoretical results show a larger stability range of the controlled system with the proposed FBPC. The simulation and experiment results show that the proposed controller can control the low‐frequency oscillation in H‐bridge DC–AC inverter well. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

变频器驱动系统滤波器设计研究

由于PWM逆变器输出的脉冲电压在电机接线端子及绕组上产生了差模电压和共模电压;特别是当逆变器通过长线电缆与电机连接时,会在电机端产生电压反射现象,从而在电机端形成很大的过电压,危害电气设备的安全运行。通过对PWM逆变器驱动电机系统产生差模和共模电压机理分析的研究,在变频器输出端抑制电机端差模电压的RLC滤波器的基础上,提出一种改进型变频器输出端无源滤波器的方案,并给出了参数的设计方法。该滤波器可对共模及差模电压同时起到抑制作用,仿真结果验证了该滤波器设计方案的有效性,为变频器驱动系统滤波器设计研究提供理论依据。     

Mitigation of third‐harmonic voltage for three‐phase four‐wire distribution system based on a series active filter for neutral conductor

This paper proposes a series active filter for mitigation of the third‐harmonic voltage in a three‐phase four‐wire power distribution system in a building. The active filter which consists of a single‐phase inverter can suppress the harmonic voltage of the system. The active filter is characterized by acting not only as a capacitor but also as a resistor for the third‐harmonic components. A Hilbert transformer is applied to the controller of the active filter in order to realize accurate third‐harmonic detection on a single‐phase active filter. Measurement results of harmonic distortion of source voltage in a building is also shown in this paper. It is clarified in a simulation and experiment that the active filter can suppress the third‐harmonic voltage without increasing neutral conductor current. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 150(1): 62–70, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10379     

A new generalized high‐frequency voltage injection method and mirror‐phase estimation method for sensorless drive of salient‐pole PMSMSs

This paper proposes a new generalized high‐frequency voltage injection method for sensorless drive of salient‐pole permanent‐magnet synchronous motors. The injected high‐frequency voltage has a unique spatially‐rotating elliptical shape, with the amplitudes of both the major and minor axes varying with the motor speed, and can be designed by selecting a design parameter. The high‐frequency current caused by the injected voltage, which has information on the rotor phase to be estimated, is speed‐independent, that is, is not affected by the motor speed at all. Consequently, the rotor phase can be estimated in a wide speed range from zero to the rated speed. By selection of the design parameter, the properties of the high‐frequency current can be adjusted appropriately to the associated motor‐drive system consisting of a motor and an inverter. As a versatile phase estimation method for estimating rotor phase using the high‐frequency current, the “mirror‐phase estimation method” is reconstructed and reproposed. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 168(3): 67–82, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20803     

A low‐loss snubber for reducing motor terminal surge voltage

The development of an advanced Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) has enabled high‐frequency switching operation and has improved the performance of PWM inverters for motor drive. However, the IGBT's high rate of dv/dt has adverse effects on motor insulation stress. In many motor drive applications, the inverter and motor are separated, requiring long motor feeds. The long cable contributes high‐frequency ringing at the motor terminal and results in high surge voltage which stresses the motor insulation. The inverter output filter and RDC snubber are the conventional method for reducing the surge voltage. In this paper, we propose a new low‐loss snubber to reduce the motor terminal surge voltage. The snubber consists of the series connection of chraging/discharging capacitor and the voltage‐clamped capacitor. At IGBT turn‐off, the snubber starts to operate when the IGBT voltage reaches the voltage‐clamped level. Since dv/dt is decreased by snubber operating, the peak level of the surge voltage can be reduced. Also the snubber operates at the IGBT voltage above the voltage‐clamped level, and the snubber loss is largely reduced compared with the RDC snubber. The proposed snubber enables reduction of the motor terminal surge voltage with low loss. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 150(4): 64–72, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10378     

A novel quasi‐Z‐source indirect matrix converter

A new type of three‐phase quasi‐Z‐source indirect matrix converter (QZS‐IMC) is proposed in this paper. It uses a unique impedance network for achieving voltage‐boost capability and making the input current in continuous conduction mode (CCM) to eliminate the input filter. The complete modulation strategy is proposed to operate the QZS‐IMC. Meanwhile, a closed‐loop DC‐link peak voltage control strategy is proposed, and the DC‐link peak voltage is estimated by measuring both the input and capacitor voltages. With this proposed technique, a high‐performance output voltage control can be achieved with an excellent transient performance even if there are input voltage and load current variations. The controller is designed by using the small‐signal model. Vector control scheme of the induction motor is combined with the QZS‐IMC to achieve the motor drive. A QZS‐IMC prototype is built in laboratory, and experimental results verify the operating principle and theoretical analysis of the proposed converter. The simulation tests of QZS‐IMC based inductor motor drive are carried out to validate the proposed converter's application in motor drive. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Output‐voltage feedback control topology for inverters dedicated to renewable energy systems

We present a new control topology for inverters, mainly dedicated to renewable energy applications. The originality is due to the integration in the inverter of an adaptive regulation of its output voltage controlled by a closed feedback loop allowing compensating the voltage drops induced by load variations. The feedback control is based on an adaptive pulse wave modulation (APWM) technique, that controls the power switches of the inverter to obtain the purest possible sine‐wave voltage. The APWM technique straightforwardly compares the inverter output voltage with a reference signal at the grid frequency. In this contribution, this technique is applied to a single‐phase push‐pull inverter but could have been integrated for the control of all kinds of inverter topologies in renewable energy systems. We have shown that the APWM technique allows generating pure sine‐wave voltage, with low total harmonic distortion compared with the generally obtained by classical systems and that load variations do not affect the quality of the output. An experimental prototype of a single‐phase inverter with an adaptive regulation based on APWM technique was developed. The experimental characterizations of the prototype confirm the simulations. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Variable frequency inverter with sinusoidal voltage outputs using rotating coordinate transformation

An ideal inverter should have sinusoidal voltage and current outputs. Generally, output voltages of a voltage-source PWM inverter contain high-level switching frequency harmonies due to the PWM operation, while output currents are kept nearly sinusoidal. High-level harmonics contained in output voltages of a voltage-source inverter cause acoustic noises, iron losses and electromagnetic interferences. An LC filter was used to suppress the switching frequency harmonics; however, there is a danger of resonance in the LC filter. Accordingly, to remove harmonics of the LC filter resonance frequency, the authors add a voltage feedback loop. A conventional system can operate without difficulty within 50 Hz. However, with accompanying increases in the output frequency, output voltages are largely delayed and reduced by a high-pass filter inserted in the feedback loop. These problems are caused by a high-pass filter inserted in the feedback loop. Accompanied by the inverter output frequency, a high-pass filter cannot remove the fundamental component perfectly. As a result, a small fundamental component is fed back, which causes a delay and decrease in output voltage. This paper proposes the application of coordinate transformation to a high-pass filter inserted in the feedback loop. As a result, the proposed system realizes an ideal filter which can suppress fundamental frequency components perfectly, and improves the characteristics of the inverter with sinusoidal voltage outputs greatly. Theoretical analyses, simulations and experiments showed satisfactory results. © 1997 Scripta Technica, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 118 (4): 94–102, 1997     

A multilevel PWM strategy suitable for high‐voltage motor direct drive systems with consideration of the adverse effect of dead time

Recently, high‐voltage motor direct drive systems have been put to practical use, and various multilevel PWM strategies have also been proposed. This paper describes a multilevel PWM strategy [our group calls it the Carrier Phase Selection Method (CPS)] that has the lowest line voltage harmonic distortion in order to prevent the degradation of high‐voltage motor winding insulations. This method takes the adverse effect of dead time into consideration, and it controls the shift direction of a carrier phase. Therefore, a favorable output waveform without instantaneous voltage surges is achieved even if the line voltage level changes. Moreover, the switching transitions across all switching devices are well‐balanced, so the utilization of inverter unit cells is equalized. This is an important factor when designing the entire system. Based on simulation and experimental results, it is shown that this CPS method is particularly effective in high‐voltage motor direct drive systems. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 165(2): 77–88, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20474     

FDCCII‐based electronically tunable voltage‐mode biquad filter

In this work, a voltage‐mode biquad filter realizing low‐pass, band‐pass and high‐pass characteristics is presented. The proposed filter, which employs two FDCCIIs, two grounded capacitors and two NMOS transistors, provides electronic tunability with the control voltage applied to the gate. NMOS transistors act as linear resistor. Furthermore, the proposed circuit still enjoys realization using a low number of active and passive components, no requirement with the component choice conditions to realize specific filtering functions, high input impedance, and low active and passive sensitivities performance. Simulation results using SPICE program are given to show the performance of the filter and verify the theory. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Common mode voltage reduction of quasi‐Z source indirect matrix converter

Quasi‐Z source indirect matrix converter (IMC) combines both advantages of conventional IMC and quasi‐Z source inverter, for example, no direct current (DC) link capacitor, compact all‐silicon power converter, bidirectional power flow, input power factor controllable, and high voltage gain; moreover, it does not require additional input filter, because continuous quasi‐Z source network integrates LC filter function. However, there is no literature to disclose common mode voltage (CMV) issue of quasi‐Z source IMC. In this paper, for the first time, the CMV issue and reduction of quasi‐Z source IMC are investigated. Firstly, the CMV of quasi‐Z source IMC is analyzed when using current typical modulation method, which follows the brief introduction of topology and modulation method for quasi‐Z source IMC, and the factors that affect the CMV are figured out; Secondly, referring to the CMV reduction methods of conventional IMC, two solutions named as Methods I and II to reduce the CMV for quasi‐Z source IMC are developed, which are achieved in the inverter stage; the third CMV reduction method is proposed in the rectifier stage through redefining the six sectors of the rectifier stage, which can implement zero current commutation. Experimental bench is built to test three approaches for reducing the CMV of quasi‐Z source IMC. Comparative evaluation is carried out between three methods and conventional modulation method. Experimental results verify that three methods can significantly reduce the CMV of quasi‐Z source IMC, with the CMV peak value reduction of 42%, but they present different features in terms of input and output current THDs, switching loss, CMV root mean square (RMS) value, modulation index limitation, and so on. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the input common‐mode voltage range of CMOS bulk‐driven input stages

In this paper the response of a bulk‐driven MOS Metal‐Oxide‐Semiconductor input stage over the input common‐mode voltage range is discussed and experimentally evaluated. In particular, the behavior of the effective input transconductance and the input current is studied for different gate bias voltages of the input transistors. A comparison between simulated and measured results, in standard 0.35‐µm CMOS Complementary Metal‐Oxide‐Semiconductor technology, demonstrates that the model of the MOS transistors is not sufficiently accurate for devices operating under forward bias conditions of their source‐bulk pn junction. Therefore, the fabrication and the experimental evaluation of any solution based on this approach are highly recommended. A technique to automatically control the gate bias voltage of a bulk‐driven differential pair is proposed to optimize the design tradeoff between the effective input transconductance and the input current. The proposed input stage was integrated as a standalone block and was also included in a 1.5‐V second‐order operational transconductance amplifier (OTA)‐C lowpass filter. Experimental results validate the effectiveness of the approach. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characteristics comparison of high‐frequency multilevel inverter connected with filter inverters

This paper presents a characteristics comparison of a high‐frequency multilevel inverter connected with small‐ capacity filter inverters. In general, PWM inverters require a low‐pass filter in order to reduce switching harmonics. However, in the high‐frequency systems such as class D power amplifiers, the cutoff frequency of the low‐pass filter must be set at high frequency. Thus, harmonic distortion of the output voltage is enlarged to a harmful level. Increasing the number of output voltage levels is effective in reducing the harmonic distortion of the output voltage and the low‐pass filter size. The proposed systems consist of a five‐level inverter and several cascade‐connected low‐voltage full bridge inverters without any external DC power sources for filtering the output voltage. The five‐level inverter generates a stepwise waveform with five‐level voltage, and the low‐voltage filter inverter superimposes harmonic components to compensate for the voltage waveform distortion. Therefore, the proposed system can reduce its total switching loss and can increase the number of the output voltage levels. In this paper, the effectiveness of the proposed systems is verified through several experiments. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 161(3): 58–65, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20373     

A minute asymmetrical current injection based anti‐islanding method for three‐phase grid‐connected photovoltaic inverters

An active anti‐islanding protection method based on the current control for a three‐phase grid‐connected photovoltaic inverter is proposed in this paper. The current of phase‐a is synchronous with the corresponding phase voltage at the point of common coupling in its positive half cycle, and a zero‐current zone is inserted at the end of the cycle in a negative half cycle. As for phase‐c, the zero‐current zone is inserted in the positive half cycle of the current, and the current in a negative half cycle of phase‐c is in phase with the corresponding phase voltage. Therefore, the currents of phase‐a and phase‐c in one cycle become slightly asymmetrical. Before the islanding takes place, the positive and negative half cycles of three‐phase voltages are symmetrical due to the operation of the grid voltage. While islanding takes place, a time difference between the positive and negative half cycles of the voltages of phase‐a and phase‐c will be generated and the islanding is detected in accordance with the successive cycles fulfilling the conditions of islanding identification. In order to measure zero‐crossings of the voltages accurately, an finite impulse response filter is used to smooth out the voltage harmonics and noises. Simulations and experiments for three‐phase three‐wire power systems have been carried out. The results verify that the proposed method can detect the islanding for a parallel RLC load or induction motors when the voltage frequency is within the range of the non‐detection zone. It is seen from the analysis of the detecting principle that there is no influence of temporal voltage frequency fluctuation on the proposed method even if a large load connected to a weak power system frequently starts up or stops. Copyright © 2010 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Analysis and design of highly linear triode‐mode based OTA and its application to a wide tunable Gm‐C filter

In this paper, a new highly linear operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) based on triode‐mode input transistors is introduced. An analysis based on theoretical relations and simulation results is presented that aims to obtain the best operating points of triode‐mode and cascode transistors to achieve the highest linearity. The proposed analysis is utilized to design a linear pseudo‐differential OTA, benefiting a linear common mode feedforward and an appropriate common mode feedback circuit. The common mode feedforward circuit is also regulated in the same manner as main the transconductor to stabilize the output common mode voltage during tuning action and achieve higher common mode rejection ratio. Proposed OTA is used to implement a tunable low‐power linear Gm‐C filter. The cutoff frequency of the filter is tunable from 2.7 to 44 MHz while its power consumption changes from 3.5 to 8.5 mW in the entire tuning range. By applying input voltages up to 1.1 Vp‐p, the filter's IM3 remains less than −48 dB for various cutoff frequencies. The proposed OTA and filter are simulated in 0.18‐μ m CMOS technology with Hspice simulator. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

PWM逆变器输出有源滤波技术及其发展

由三相PWM逆变器产生的共模和差模电压可以在电机驱动中产生足够大的共模和差模电流，文章首先指出系统在高频工作时逆变器输出的电压中的共模和差模谐波分对电机产生的危害，然后分析了PWM逆变器输出有源滤波器原理；对减小或消除这些危害所采取的不同方案进行了评估，从而得出减小或消除这些危害的最佳方案。